When thinking about this month’s “no habit is an accident” challenge, I knew I wanted it to be something that kept me focused and working on my top 14 for 2014. I also knew it needed to be something I could simply incorporate into my already jammmm-packeddddd day to day. Maybe even something that made things feel a bit easier, more enjoyable, and even moreloving throughout the busiest of days.

I re-read over my list of intentions and boom. It hit me. #5 it is.

Self-love is a topic I’ve talked about before, and one that never fails to strike a chord with me.

In the beginning of a yoga class I went to this week, the instructor said “yoga is almost never about the poses. It’s about whats happening in your mind.” Uhhh, mind-blown. Then, of course, I thought about what he said, as an even bigger analogy of life.

It’s almost never about the circumstances, our perceived image, our frivolous wants, our unspoken needs, or even our regrets. It’s about what’s going on in our minds.

I thought of all the wasted energy and added stress when living in the world of judgment and “should-ing”.

Those anxious, self-critical, overwhelmed, indecisive, feelings that create nothing but log-jam in our heads. I literally can’t stand those feelings.

When im coming from a place of self-love, I’m generally excited. Vibrant. Confident and at peace. Content and connected. Decisive and clear. Open and adventurous. Loving and living in wonderment. Forgiving and forgetting. Abundant.

There was so much that inspired me in the past couple of days. The talks and amazing podcast resources listened to with my team at work, various passages I’ve read; including a ministry called “She Delights”, led by Whole Magazine. The ministry’s creator invites us to rise up and empower ourselves and other women, through believing in our innate worth and identity, so we all may experience the one true life worth living. It calls us to think about how God not only loves us, but d e l i g h t s in us. We too, must remember this kind of truth, this kind of worth and identity in Him, because we’ll never be able to do it all alone. How live-giving to know and walk in this reality!

——complaint vs. solution——

I know that for me, the stress of complaining is exhausting. Which of your worries could you accept as the way it is and sleep well at night? What if the worry and complaint that came along with it could cease to exist?

What if you could turn a complaint into a conversation by finding a solution. What do you need right now? Maybe nothing. Maybe you don’t know. All you need to do is keep listening to yourself. The real you.

You don’t give power to the story that’s not working. You don’t get sucked into constantly “fixing, fixing, fixing“or “wishing, wishing, wishing“.

Change only comes from speaking your mind; powerfully. Affirmatively.

Knowing, that all we have are the choices we make.

——- the #mirrormantras ——-

No one makes us feel anything (inferior, not good enough, too fat, too skinny, not smart enough, etc.) We do that all on our own. Make those words meansomething that works for you.

And sometimes self-love is about going beyond ourselves and looking for where we can lift others up. Where we can bridge gaps between what we only think separates us. Ask any group of women. We all struggle with so many of the same things and insecurities, yet we think we’re alone in it. We berate ourselves and think meaner things about our reflection, than we’d think of our least favorite person.

So, I invite you to take #simplyselflove a step further with me and engage in something I’m calling the#mirrormantrasmovement.

The gig is simple. Any time, any place, any how. Spread messages of love, positive affirmation, words of inspiration and encouragement, praise and confidence, acceptance and truth on a mirror. Speak them; out loud. You can write them on a sticky note, write them in dry erase markers or heck, even lipstick. Leave these notes anonymously for others, leave them for yourself. Hashtag your messages with #mirrormantras &/or #simplyselflove so we can all follow along and see the self-love spreading. Maybe you’ll even stumble across one, too.

Throughout the month, I’ll be recording my own personal thoughts and feelings and catching myself where I slip. I’ll be taking the extra second to do the things I know help me to be my best self, and plan to share them all with you at the end of the month in my final recap. Join me!